Arkansas Releases 2014 Schedule

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas baseball team will play 28 games against teams that advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament and 35 games at Baum Stadium as head coach Dave Van Horn announced the Razorbacks’ 2014 schedule on Monday. “This year’s schedule is going to be a good challenge,” Coach Van Horn said. “The way I feel about the schedule is we need to be challenged early and often so we can get ready for conference play.” Arkansas has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the last 12 seasons, one of only seven programs nationally to accomplish that feat. The Razorbacks have advanced to seven College World Series, five Super Regionals and have 26 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. Along with the 35 games inside Baum Stadium, the Razorbacks will also play in Central Arkansas for the fifth straight year as the Razorbacks face Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday, March 26, at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock. The game is part of a two-game midweek series vs. MVSU with the game on March 25 being played at Baum Stadium. “This is the fifth year in a row we’ll be in Central Arkansas and we’re already scheduling again for next year and down the road,” Coach Van Horn said. “It’s fun for us to go and play in that part of the state. The crowds have been tremendous. Hopefully we can keep that rolling.”

Arkansas opens the 2014 season with 10 consecutive games at home. The Razorbacks open the regular season on Friday, Feb. 14, against Appalachian State in the first game of a three-game series. Following the series vs. Appalachian State, Arkansas hosts Eastern Illinois (Feb. 21-23) and South Alabama (Feb. 28-March 2) in three-game series before wrapping up the 10-game home stand with a single game vs. IPFW on Monday, March 3. Following the season-opening home stand, the Razorbacks will hit the road for seven consecutive games, starting with four games in Berkeley, Calif., in a tournament hosted by the University of California. The Razorbacks will face California on March 7 and March 10 with single games against San Francisco on March 8 and Tulane on March 9. The trip to California will be the Razorbacks’ last tune-up before SEC play starts as Arkansas travels to Florida to open conference play March 14-16. Other 2014 SEC road series for Arkansas include Mississippi State (March 28-30), LSU (April 11-13), Ole Miss (May 2-4) and Missouri (May 15-17). The season-ending series vs. the Tigers will mark the first time Arkansas has faced Missouri since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012. Arkansas hosts its first home SEC series of 2014 March 21-23 as the Razorbacks will host Alabama. Along with the series vs. the Crimson Tide, the Razorbacks will also have SEC home series against South Carolina (April 4-6), Vanderbilt (April 18-20), Auburn (April 25-27) and Texas A&M (May 9-11). Arkansas will also be challenged in its midweek games with several quality opponents on the schedule. The Razorbacks will host Nebraska in a two-game series at Baum Stadium April 1 and 2. The following midweek, Arkansas welcomes UNLV to Fayetteville for a pair of games on April 8 and 9. Other notable midweek non-conference games include a home game vs. Stephen F. Austin (April 15), a two-game home series vs. Northwestern State (April 22-23) and a road game at Missouri State (April 29). The 2014 SEC Baseball Tournament will be played May 20-25 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. NCAA Tournament play begins May 30-June 2 with the regional round, while Super Regionals will take place June 6-9. The College World Series will be played June 14-24/25 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. For information on Arkansas baseball tickets, please contact the Razorback Ticket Office at 1-800-982-HOGS (4647). For more information on Arkansas baseball, follow @RazorbackBSB on Twitter.